During National Mentoring Month, we’ve talked about mentor and mentee expectations, and differences between sponsors, mentors, coaches, and friends.  We also addressed how to know whether you’re ready to be a mentor.  Today, we’re tackling the three types of mentors that every professional needs to succeed. If as you read this, you realize you’re missing one or more of these three essential mentor types, know that you’re not alone, and download the free Apochromatik Mentor Finder tool by joining the Apochromatik email list. 

January is National Mentoring Month, so we’ve been focusing on mentoring here on the Apochromatik blog. 

We’ve addressed differences between sponsors, mentors, coaches, and friends , mentor and mentee expectations, and the one thing you must do to make the most of a formal mentoring program.  Tomorrow we will cover the three types of mentors that every professional needs to succeed.  If as you read this, you realize you’re missing one or more of these three essential mentor types, know that you’re not alone, and download the free Apochromatik Mentor Finder tool by joining the Apochromatik email list to get a jumpstart. 

But today we are addressing a question we’ve been asked many times: How do you know whether you’re ready to be a mentor?

Not everyone is involved in formal mentoring programs, but we’ve had several requests to address how to make them more worthwhile.  

Before we jump into that topic, though, January is National Mentoring Month, so we’ve talked about mentor and mentee expectations, and about differences between sponsors, mentors, coaches, and friends. Later this week we will tackle the three types of mentors that every professional needs to succeed, but if you can’t wait to get started strengthening your own mentor relationships, download the Apochromatik Mentor Finder tool by joining the Apochromatik email list.

Back to how to make the most of a formal mentoring program.  

Last week we addressed the differences between mentoring, sponsorships, coaching, and friendships, and delved deeper into mentoring.  This week, we’ll focus on what mentors and mentees want from each other.  When mentors and mentees have differing expectations, problems can crop up in the relationship or, even worse, cause it to fall apart completely.  By understanding what your counterpart wants, your relationship can be positive and productive for both of you.

Mentoring is often touted as a solution to problems in the workplace, from retention and promotion of women and people of color to increasing camaraderie and overall job satisfaction.  While mentoring is not a panacea, it is a tool that can, through thoughtfully designed programs and invested participants, move the needle on all of those.  But, while Apochromatik’s services include working with employers to design mentoring programs and ensure they’re effective, not everyone has quite figured out that they need us.  (Side note: if your employer’s mentoring program needs our advice, or if you’re involved in a non-profit with a mentoring program that could benefit from a quick training for mentors and mentees, let us know.)  

As we launch this series on mentoring, this week we’ll address the difference between mentors, sponsors, friends, and coaches.  In future posts we’ll address tips to be a good mentor, tips to be a good mentee, the three types of mentors you need in your career, and more – all to help you find and foster the kind of mentoring relationships that can help you succeed.